Hollywood Is Betting on Fear

Hollywood is once again resorting to scare tactics.

According to studio chiefs and producers, we are heading into a horror movie boom. They rush to sign large-ticket deals with horror directors and writers, and launch new divisions to increase their scary offerings.

Horror movies, which are often made with lower production budgets that superhero epics and science-fiction sagas, have long been in a boom-and–bust cycle. Studios will attempt to duplicate the success of a horror movie by creating a series of similar titles if it becomes a huge hit.

Then there's the bust. Quality suffers, and audiences become tired of watching mediocre scary movies come out, prompting studios to cut back.